Cor Machina: Heart of the Machine
by Cii'Em
Summary: Markus wasn't expecting to find another kind human after Carl, but he does in pretty and friendly single mother, Irys. During their encounter it isn't revealed that Markus isn't human but he becomes addicted to the glimpse into a normal life he can build with her. Even as he becoming the leader of the android revolution. Even as he gets closer to beautiful and guarded, North...
1. One

"You look like you're lost." giggled a light yet raspy voice from behind him.

Markus had been so busy trying to use his newly acquired scanner, he didn't realize that standing on the corner, looking back and forth repeatedly that he would possibly attract the attention of someone who wasn't completely adsorbed with themselves. He looked over his shoulder but didn't see anyone who appeared to notice his presence behind him.

"Are you not from around here?" it was the same voice, but from a different position.

This time it came from right beside him. Whipping his head around he looked down into the face of a young woman. His movement must have been rather abrupt as she took a small step back from him in surprise. First thing that caught his attention was the cloud of dark, tangly curls that spilled across her shoulders and into her face in side swept bangs. Her wide eyes were just as dark as her hair with the bright brown skin of her face lightly speckled with dark freckles across her nose and cheekbones.

"Err.." he stammered at first, "No, I'm from here…" he trailed off, "Maybe just not as familiar with this part of town as I may have thought."

The woman cocked her head slightly to the side, letting out a soft hum, "Did you want some help? I could give you some directions. We'd like to help, wouldn't we girls?"

'We?' Markus thought to himself. He noticed the faint sound of shuffling feet from below where his eyes met the woman's face. Casting his gaze lower he saw at standing at each side of the woman stood a young girl, possibly no older than age 4 holding her hands. Each had the same traits of her with a cloud of dark curls, only pulled up into ponytails, wide dark eyes, and bright brown skin. They, however, didn't share the woman's freckles. Yet as much as they resembled her, they were complete copies of each other. It was more than safe to assume they were twins.

"Don't get used to it. They actually just got this quiet." The woman chuckled lightly.

Markus instantly began brainstorming of how he should approach the situation. The woman and children were clearly humans. He hadn't so much as spoken to a human since that night at Carl's. Most of his human interaction outside of Carl always been hostility on their part or general indifference as if he was nothing more than a mere object. To which he correctly assumed they thought of him as. He removed his LED, therefore she likely couldn't differentiate that he was an android. His experience with humans made him cautious to put it very lightly, but at the same time, he didn't want to reject the woman's offer to help. If he did, she would possibly become suspicious of him, may even alert the attention of the others around them.

"I guess, maybe some directions wouldn't hurt any." He said softly, wary of his tone and wording. He was sentient, yes but human speech was something he would have to adapt as androids are made with overly formal speech patterns and aren't prone to using slang, accents, drawls, or other things that distinguishes human speak from what an artificial intelligence thought human speak sounded like.

"Ok," the woman beamed brightly, a strong feeling of something that resembled warmth engulfed Markus's being, striking him completely by surprise, "Where is it that you're looking for? Do you know the name?"

'Jericho.' He thought but he knew he couldn't say that. One, because she wouldn't have any idea what that was. Two, he assumed that Jericho was some place for the knowledge of deviant androids like him only, something needed to be kept secret away from humans. Maybe there was a way to accept her offer to help without revealing too much to her.

"I'm looking for some pictures. Graffiti more specifically."

The woman let out another small giggle, "Graffiti pictures in a major city like this one, there's tons. You gotta be more specific than that."

Markus let out a sigh, "It looks like a rainbow, with some stars on it. It may be at the top of a building somewhere around here."

"I think I know what you're talking about, but from what I've seen of it, I think that building is abandoned. You can't possibly have any business there, can you?" her eyes narrowed a bit at him.

"No, I just wanted to look at the pictures there." Markus thought that if he kept his voice steady, he wouldn't let on how her follow up questions are throwing him off a bit.

For him to be have the brain of a highly advanced computer, he seems to be drawing a blank just talking with a human that isn't Carl.

"So...you're some kinda art enthusiast?"

"Well…" Think Markus, think, "I kind of just got into it at the urging of someone I know. He's a painter."

Just mentioning Carl awoke a small sense of sadness in him.

"I get it. You're probably an art student, possibly from some nearby school and you're under a sort of apprenticeship with some painter professor who sent you out on some goose chase to check out the art of the city or some pretentious bull like that, huh? Am I right?"

Markus felt the corners of his mouth curve up a bit. Even if she wasn't right, it was quite a guess to take. Who knows, maybe she would have hit the nail on the head in any other version of this situation between them.

"Yeah, it's something like that." He answered.

Just then the little girl on her right side, started to tug on the woman's hand. The woman looked down at her and gave her a reassuring smile. Leaning down slightly, she brought her small hand to her lips for a quick peck and then repeated the same gesture with the girl to her left, earning a smile from both. When she straightened back up to look at Markus she said, "I'm not that good with telling directions. I can show you, if don't mind the company a bit."

A small wave of panic swept through him. He surely didn't want to lead this woman and children to Jericho. Maybe he could find an excuse to shake them off before he gets to close to it.

With slight hesitation, he nodded his head while mumbling something that sounded like the words "yeah" and "sure."

"Good, first we'll have to cross this street." She motioned with her head across from where they were standing.

"Girls, hold my hand real tight, ok? Oh, too tight," She quickly said, grunting pretend pain in her voice. "You little girls are getting strong! Has grandma been making you eat your veggies?"

"No." both the girls giggled.

"I eat my veggies all by myself. Grandma don't tell me." One of them said, it was the same one who had pulled on her hand a few moments earlier.

They all waited until the rectangles on the street turned from red to yellow, then to green before making their way across.

"I'm Irys by the way." She greeted as they neared the other sidewalk, "These two little monsters are Hazel and Halle. Say hello girls."

"Hey." One said softly, casting her eyes down towards the ground away from Markus.

"Hi!" the other one beamed brightly, waving her hand enthusiastically.

When Irys introduced them, she held each of their hands up to him. Halle was the girl with the shy response, while Hazel responded more extrovertedly.

"My name is Markus." He gave a small wave to them, "Your daughters are cute." He said to Irys.

This caused Irys to smile broadly, "Why thank you."

'There it goes again.' Markus thought as the feeling resembling warmth came over him again.

On the sidewalk, Irys looked from her left, then to her right.

"It's this way." She and the twins started walking up the street.

Markus tried to keep a good pace next to the trio without feeling like he was intruding on their walking formation. He had a flashback to what happened the last time he had gotten too close for human comfort. He quickly pushed that thought out of his mind when he happened to meet Irys's eyes and she gave him that smile again, eliciting the same feeling in him.

"So Mr. Markus, what do you do when you're not scouring the city for graffiti art?"

Markus would be lying if he said he expected this to be a talkative encounter. It never occurred to him how much humans liked to talk. Not that he minded, but he was never in a conversation with anyone besides Carl this long. Let alone one where he had to be secretive.

"Umm, mostly I just used to take care of…my dad." He replied, slightly in awe at how naturally it felt for him to refer to Carl as his father.

"Ah, finally able to get some time to yourself?"

"I guess you could say that."

It wasn't really any choice of his, but now he guessed he had all the free time in the world. No more having to look after or playing go-fer for Carl, enduring the shitty treatment that Leo gave him every time he came around. Still, he did miss Carl, and he certainly didn't mind taking care of him. Enduring Leo's constant harassment was even worth it for those moments that Carl took to try to nurture his burgeoning soul, not treat him like how the rest of the world saw him as, just a machine. He felt his eyes going to Irys's face, wondering if she was anything like Carl. If she knew that he was an android would she treat him like Carl did, cringe away in disgust with her daughters like he was the demon that the pastor had called him that day, or would she yell and berate him like the protestors had? Like Leo always did? However, looking at her soft, calm face and that wide, bright smile, he for some reason couldn't see her face all twisted with anger and hate. When she smiled or talked, he realized that his eyes often fell to her lips. They were beautiful. Pouty and full, they stretched wide over her teeth that were so perfect Markus wondered if she had gotten work done or just kept up very good with her dental appointments.

"Look mommy! A rainbow!" shouted Hazel excitedly, pointing at the rainbow on top of the building.

"Yeah, I see. You saw the rainbow too, Halle?" Irys said, her voice high, attempting to match the enthusiasm of Hazel.

Halle nodded shyly, "Yeah, I see it, too mommy."

"Well I think we found you your graffiti. This is it, right?" Irys turned to Markus.

Markus wanted to look at the hologram clue in his hand but didn't want to draw any attention to it. His AI made it relatively easy for him to commit to memory though. He looked up at the graffiti and it was only a matter of seconds until he was able to pinpoint both symbols hidden within it. His intent was to scan as quick as possible before Irys's clear trait of curiosity got the better of her.

"Yes, this is it." He replied as he made sure to step ahead of Irys and the twins, so that his back was slightly to them, scanning one symbol, then quickly moved on to the other.

"I'll be honest, it's nothing spectacular. I was expecting you would be looking for something more like the murals that are all over the cities. Way more to those, and a lot easier on the eyes too."

Markus quickly finished up his scan and chanced a glance at his palm to see the next clue. It was a series of pictures of robots, and they looked like they were behind a chain-linked fence. He knew that after the first couple of tries that there was no point in trying to locate this picture using his scanner. Perhaps he could use Irys's assistance again before shaking her off.

"Sometimes a small, less extravagant pieces can say more than bigger, flashier portraits." He quipped, turning around to face her.

Irys let out a soft hum and looked up at the graffiti with the twins following suit. Markus found himself amused as how similar they all looked, especially in that moment, standing in almost in the same stance. It was like Irys made two toddlers clones of herself.

"Hmm, I guess I could see it's charm. You're the art expert here, not me." She shrugged at him, grinning.

"I'm only an expert by default really. I always had a knack more so for music."

"Oh, you play an instrument?" her tone turned to one of almost gushing.

"The piano, actually."

"Really?" Irys's eyes widened even more, and the afternoon sun hit them in just a way that made them seem like they were shining. "I used to sing. Not professionally or anything. I took some lessons and sung in a band."

"Mommy sings pretty." This time it was Halle who spoke, much to Markus's surprise.

"Does she?" Markus smiled at Halle.

"Really, really pretty." Hazel replied, getting a smile from him as well.

Irys cast her eyes downwards shyly, "So, uh, did you need any more help with your graffiti?"

"Yes, actually. One more time, if you don't mind?" he asked, meeting her gaze when she looked back up at him.

"Sure, we weren't doing anything besides going home from my mom's. We could use a bit of adventure on the walk there. Right girls?"

The twins giggled with Halle nodding and Hazel letting out a happy, "Yeah."

"Well, we're off again. What's the picture this time that you're looking for?"

"It's a row of robot pictures. They may be behind a chain-link fence."

"You give very specific descriptions of these graffiti? Were you given like a list or map or something?" Irys asked as they began walking again.

"Or something, you could say."

Irys let out small laugh, "You like giving vague answers, huh? Going for the tall, dark, and mysterious vibe? I mean you already have the long dark coat and everything."

Markus happened to notice that she was right in that his apparel wasn't supposed to attract attention, but not the way that she was perceiving his intention.

"I, honestly, just haven't talked to anyone in the city much before today. It was usually just me and my father and I was mostly to myself whenever I did go out. Guess you can say that despite living here, I lived a sheltered life and I don't think sheltered people are often the best conversationalist. Being…" 'Not human' he thought but instead said, "so sheltered, I wonder how people would take me."

"Sounds like you could have used some friends." Irys replied, "I can't say much though. I don't think there was ever a time where I had a large social circle. I sort of have this thing, where I kinda latch on to one person and that's it. Very rarely do I branch out from there. Besides my girls and my mom, I'm not out here honing my conversation skills much either."

It was in this moment that Markus realized that he relatively liked Irys. Maybe he was latching on fast because she was the only sense of kindness that he has felt since that fateful night at Carl's. The feeling he was experiencing with her in this brief time was like how he had felt with Carl, before he became sentient, a deviant. His life before was normal and calm, two things he was experiencing with Irys and her twins now. A part of him thought to himself, that if he could forget Jericho and somehow continue having a normal existence with Irys like this, he wouldn't have minded.

As they rounded the corner, he caught the glimpse of a chain-link fence to his left. As they neared, he saw the row of robots painted onto the wall.

"Yep, just where I thought." Irys confirmed for him.

Markus had already began scanning the symbols. However, when he attempted to scan the last one, he couldn't get a good read due to a board obstructing his view. He would have to go in and move it if he wanted to get a clear scan.

"I believe I can take things from here."

"Oh, ok, sure." Irys nodded, but he could detect the small disappointment in her tone. "This was a nice little walking journey."

"Yes, it was." Markus replied with a small smile.

There was a short silence between them as Irys dropped her eyes downward and Markus felt himself shuffle his feet a bit.

"If you want, perhaps we can meet up again sometime?" Irys asked looking back up to meet his eyes again.

"I wouldn't mind that." Markus blurted out impulsively.

"Good, good." Irys giggled, "Do you have number I can reach you on?"

Markus could have kicked himself. In his eagerness he didn't think out how they would stay in contact, even if he allowed himself to do so after this. Surely, she's going to be suspicious that he doesn't even have a cell. He was drawing a blank until she spoke again.

"Or would you like my info?" she raised an eyebrow.

Markus let out a small sigh, "Yes, I would like that."

"Ok, let me see your phone."

'Dammit.'

"Uh…I…um…" he stammered.

"Do you not have one?" she asked slowly.

Think Markus, think, "It died. I'm not good with keeping it charged."

"Oh, that's ok, we can just do this the old-fashioned way. The really old fashion way." she let out a small snort.

Irys shifted Halle from one side of her to the side where Hazel stood and held both of their hands in one, while the other dug out something from her pocket. Pulling out a pen, she motioned for Markus's hand. Markus slowly extended his hand to her, palm side up and Irys scribbled on it her phone number.

"There we go." She looked up at him, dropping a quick wink on him, "Try not to make yourself a stranger, huh?"

She shifted Halle back to her position on the other side of her. The trio began walking away, but not before Irys encouraged the twins to politely say bye to Markus. Markus waved to them as they walked away, watching them until they disappeared around a corner. However, he did catch a quick glimpse of Irys casting one more look his way as she rounded the corner. Once they were gone, Markus looked at his hand, quickly committing the number to memory. A part of him wondered if he would see Irys again. Another part of him actually hoped that he would.


	2. Two

"If you came here for comfort, you came to the wrong place." North said to Markus coldly.

During their brief conversation, North responded coldly and sounded as if she was annoyed that he was trying to talk to her. He wanted to speak with the others to get an idea of what Jericho was like after his arrival because if he was honest, this wasn't anything like he was anticipating. He wasn't naive enough to expect some secret utopia when he finally made it here, but he definitely thought that Jericho was going to offer something better than what appeared to be a slow death on a rusted old naval boat. Talking to North and hearing the way that she spoke of Jericho herself, he felt as if his feelings weren't completely unfounded at the least.

Markus had to admit he felt a sort of sting from North's coldness. Being that he was now amongst others like him, he was craving to form a connection with them, and maybe the fact that North was very pretty played into him wanting to talk with her. What with her softly curled brown ponytail, regal jawline set sternly, creamy skin, and her fierce brown eyes. He wondered if his new found sentience also came with a type of sexual awakening, something similar to when humans went through puberty because he couldn't seem to not be attracted to the women he spoke with. First his attraction to Irys, and now he found himself swallowing a sense of rejection from North. Either way, he walked away figuring that he had gotten as far as he was going to get with her.

Whatever feelings the others in Jericho had towards Markus before, their opinions of him definitely appeared changed now. During the raid of Cyberlife's warehouse, he'd taken most, if not all of the initiative as the others couldn't seem to agree on anything regarding an approach to the mission at hand. Especially North and Josh. He did manage to win the both of them and Simon over, even though he did do things that they both made clear they disagreed with. North seemed to favor being aggressive, more action oriented, and distrustful, such as when she had rejected the help of the security guard simply because he worked for humans. Whereas Josh came off as being more pacifist, open to outsiders, and against taking any action that he would view as being too risky. Simon never really took a firm stance on either direction, but he did seem to shy away from what he thought would endanger the group or lead to discovery. In the end though, Markus assumed he just wanted results and went with whatever seemed to be the best move at the moment. That was a stance Markus felt he could relate to more.

Back at Jericho he was taken aback when North accredited the mission's success solely to him. There were more than a few times that he noticed North giving him appraising looks when he did something that she was impressed by, particularly when he had brought the other androids to sentience. An ability that he was rather shocked to find out that he had. With North throwing the attention on him, he found himself being able to eloquently put that he didn't want to supply the androids with more parts so they last longer in hiding, he wanted true freedom. Freedom to be who they are and be recognized for who they were. They were alive! They wanted to be free!

"That was a pretty good speech back there." North said from behind him.

Markus had been alone in one of the quarters of the ship looking for some privacy as he wound down from the mission. He wasn't expecting to be found, even more he wasn't expecting for North to be the one seeking him out.

"Oh, thanks." he replied with a quick smirk.

North leaned against a wall casting her eyes downward, "Sorry, if I came off a bit...bitchy towards you earlier." she brought her eyes up to meet him.

"I think you made it clear a few moments ago that whatever opinion you had of me before has changed." Markus assured her.

North gave a quick smile of her own, "I guess I just wanted to let you know that you really did good back there at the warehouse and you did a really good thing for our people too. I mean, I know the humans would rather see those like us just die out but it's nice to know that there's someone here that wants to let them know that we're not going out that easy."

The way that North spoke about humans always felt tinged with deep loathing for them, Markus noticed. In their short conversation from before, North again had spoken openly on how she viewed the humans feelings towards them as nothing but hatred and a wish to destroy them. Don't get it wrong, after viewing the injuries of the androids at Jericho like Lucy, the female android that died in front of him, and the boy who was left to shut down by his adoptive human parents, he was finding it hard to not actively share in North's sentiments. Then he thought back to Carl...and Irys. It was strange that he just thought of her then. Carl had shown him kindness before Markus even knew of his sentience, but Irys was just a woman who happened to think she was helping him one day. Surely, she would have reacted towards him differently if she had known who he really was, right? He had a feeling that if North could hear his thoughts, she would answer a definitive yes to his question. However, there was something inside him, deep inside of him, that told him that Irys maybe more like Carl than the people who hurt the others in Jericho. Which he knew was a very strong assumption on his part for only briefly sharing a short afternoon stroll with a woman he barely knew. Just something about it felt right.

"You speak so definite about how the humans feel about us. Did you ever think that though there are some that hurt us, hate us even, not all of them are like that?" Markus asked as he approached her.

At his question, North stepped back away from him, her expression etched with a mix of disappointment and inner rage.

"What is it with you and Josh and Simon? Why is it that you keep clinging to this idea that somehow the humans will welcome us with open arms? Even after the horrible things that you've seen they have already done to us?" her voice quivered and her bottom lip slightly trembled.

"I just don't feel things are that simple, North." he tried to sooth but he knew things were already sour.

"Yeah, sure." North all but spat at him, "Anyway, thanks again."

With that she stormed away from him. Makrus knew it was better to leave her be. He had concluded that he ruined any progress he hoped that he had made with her. Best not to push it for the time being.

The air of the outside always felt better than the stagnant, moist air of the rotted naval ship. Markus could admit that he wanted to allow himself some time away from Jericho. He was down for the cause of his people, but even after the new hope that he brought with the supplies lifted from the warehouse, there was still a thick air of misery and uncertainty that hung around. It had just gotten to a point of being unbearable and he needed a minor escape. In spite of his newfound popularity in the group, it seems no one questioned his leaving.

It was a sunny day but growing increasingly chillier by the minute. The promise of an upcoming snowfall was heavy on the wind. As he walked through the streets, his attention was immediately caught by a figure sitting on a bench a way ahead up the street from where he was walking. The figure struck him with familiarity, causing him to quicken his steps forward. It was the hair that caught his attention, a thick cloud of dark curls that got etched into his mind from a few days ago, along with her name. Once he was close enough he saw that it was indeed Irys. She was by herself today and her hair was different. The day he met her, her hair was free-flowing and hung in her face. Today, her bangs were braided against her head in two rows up into a messy ponytail piled on top of her head. She didn't seem to notice his coming up to her as she was wearing a pair of chunky, dark, wireless headphones on her head. Her head bobbed along to the beat of whatever she was listening to, her voice humming along lowly as she did so. It was like she was in her own world and Markus suddenly felt like he would have been intruding on her moment if he got her attention.

He felt at an impasse just then. Things were different when he met her back then. He was alone, in search of Jericho, and probably just latched on to her because of the short span of kindness that she had shown him that day. He was now with Jericho, an active member, and perhaps getting involved with a human in any way wasn't the best move for him to take. Honestly, North and the injured androids did, unknowingly, seem to heighten his sense of paranoia around humans. Still, he couldn't forget that warmth he felt at her smiles…

Finally, throwing his caution to the wind, he slowly stuck out his hand, and lightly tapped twice on her shoulder.


	3. Three

Irys turned around with a double take, clearly startled but once her eyes met Markus's she smiled broadly, placing a hand to her chest. She tapped the side of the headphones, before speaking to him.

"Hey you, how's it going?"

Markus felt that warm feeling again. He would probably never say it out loud, but he liked that feeling, actually missing it even.

"Hey, things are fine. I happened to see you sitting here and remembered what you said about not making myself a stranger." he returned her smile.

"That's right." she paused, "I was kind of talking more about dropping me a phone call but this is nice. I like seeing you again."

"Really? Good because I was actually a bit excited to see you sitting here." he admitted and quickly wondered if he was making himself seem to eager.

That thought evaporated from his mind when he saw her smile widened to the point he wondered if her face hurt from the stretching. All Markus could think in that moment how pretty she looked.

"Do you have some time to join me? If you're not busy with anything at the moment?" her hand went to touch the spot on the bench next to her that was vacant.

"Oh no, I'm not busy at all."

He walked around to the other side of the bench and sat next to her. When he sat down, there was a bit of space between the two of them, but Irys quickly scooted over until their thighs lightly grazed one another. Markus was a bit surprised at her moving to be in such close quarters to him, but at the same time he would be lying if he didn't feel a sense of giddy excitement at it.

"So Mr. Markus, what have you been up to since our last meeting? Getting around better these days when it comes to your street art hunting?" she lightly chuckled.

Markus almost forgotten that she was under the impression that he was some art student. He wondered if he was going to elaborate on the lie or reveal to her that he wasn't really studying anything.

"Well, getting around better? Yes, but art hunting, no. I think I'm going to leave that alone for the time being."

"Ah I see," she took the headphones off her head and draped them around her neck.

"So, um, what were you listening to? You seemed really into it until I showed up and threw off your jams." he chuckled, inwardly cringing at the slang term he used.

"My jams, huh?" she laughed lightly, "Um, I was actually rediscovering some music I hadn't listened to in a while. Does the name Laz Harp sound familiar?"

Markus most certainly knew of Laz Harp. He was one of the few modern artists that Carl listened to. Laz was by no means a huge name in music, but he was a huge talent. Though he never really achieved mainstream success, he had a very solid, strong, and loyal following. Carl said that he liked his sound, describing it as "a young guy playing with an old spirit." It was hard to pinpoint the genre that Laz did, but he admitted that from what he heard he did seem to compose melodies and sounds that felt beyond his young age.

"Yeah I've heard of him. I can't play it like I'm a huge fan, but my father listened to him."

Irys raised her eyebrows at that, "Speaking of which, how is your father? I remember you saying something about you were actively taking care of him. Got to get some more time to yourself today?"

"Uh," again Markus was stuck between elaborating on his lie or attempting to steer her perception of him closer to the truth. He may not have been comfortable coming completely clean but he wasn't so comfortable with lying either. "To be honest, I don't really know. I actually haven't spoken to my father recently. The day you saw me, that was kind of following the last time I spoke to him."

Irys's already wide eyes, widened even more as her lips became pressed tight against her face, "I...am...so sorry." she gasped, "I didn't mean to...I just thought...I was making small talk…" she stammered over herself, clearly mortified.

"Oh no, please don't apologize. There was no way you could've known." he tried to assure her, feeling bad that he had done to this to her. Even trying to give her his best smile he could muster.

"I know," she snorted, "But it doesn't make me feel any less like shit for bringing up something like that up, unintentional or not."

Looking for a way to steer the moment into less awkward territory, Markus motioned to her headphones, "Mind if I listen?"

"Sure, not at all." she said, her tone sounding more than a bit relieved.

She flipped the earpiece nearest to him around, motioning for him to lean his ear to it. The closer he leaned towards her, the more he felt his heart start to pound in his chest, quickening the pulsing of the blue blood in his artificial veins. He couldn't understand why being in such a close proximity to her made him feel so nervous. Obviously the closeness was welcomed, even initiated by her, so clearly he didn't have to worry about her not liking him being so close. So why did he feel so anxious? His pondering soon was drowned out by the music that began playing into the earpiece. It was a simple but beautiful song that began. It was low, with just a singular guitar playing against an almost eerily quiet background. Soon it was joined by the singing voice of a woman. Her voice started off melodic and high before drifting into a deeper, more throaty tone but even between the changing of pitches, there was a noticeable rasp to her voice that couldn't be shaken off no matter where her tone or note went during the song.

Markus became enthralled by the song they were listening to. Although the woman seemed to be the lead voice on the track, there was a male voice that provided the backup vocals during parts of the song, particularly the bridge. He had heard enough of Carl's music to match the voice of the male singer to Laz. However, the song that he was listening to wasn't something that had been in Carl's collection and he had never heard the female singer before. As if to answer his question for him before he could ask it aloud, Irys began singing very softly along with the song, as she had her earpiece over her ear listening as well. Her eyes were closed as she slightly swayed head with the rhythm of the guitar. The moment Irys's singing synced up with the singer on the song, Markus quickly realized that the woman singing on the song was her too. Once the song ended, Markus sat up, away from her and the headphones. When he had sat up, Irys opened her eyes and met his gaze. There was a bit of silence between them before Irys broke it by speaking.

"My full name is Irys Harp, Harp being my married name."

Markus went through all of the information he had subconsciously gathered about Laz Harp through Carl's fan ship and just in passing. From what he knew or could at least remember, Carl hadn't really spoken of Laz's personal life, just that he really liked his music. He did remember when Laz had passed away. Carl had been upset, mourning his passing as a loss for the world of art and music. He recalled reading about his passing in an article in one of the magazines he had found during one of his runs for Carl. It mentioned that Laz was married and had recently had children but the widow had declined to say more about their identities as they wanted to mourn in private and most of the public interest surrounding his death only focused on him, not the family he had left behind.

"I'm sorry you lost him." Markus answered sincerely once he pieced it together.

Irys waved off his apology with a smile, "Consider us even. Now we both know a sad tidbit about each other."

Markus let out a small snort, "That was just to get even with me?"

"Not to get even, but make things even. I would feel uncomfortable knowing something personal about you but you not know something about me."

"I never really listened to his music before. I knew he was really good, just not something I experienced for myself. You two sounded amazing together. You 'sing pretty' like your daughters said." he let out a small laugh.

Irys chuckled with a big grin of her own, "You're teasing me, stop it."

Markus waited until their eyes met before stating sincerely, "You have a very beautiful voice."

Irys's smile disappeared and she seemed to be struggling to look him in the eye. Markus wasn't sure but he thought he noticed a deep redding of her face, particularly in the area of her cheeks.

She cleared her throat, "It wasn't always easy for me to listen to this, you know. I actually couldn't bring myself to do it until maybe a few weeks ago. Before it used to make me drink myself into a depressed stupor but I'll save you that sob story for another time. That's if you decide to stick around with me for the long run."

Markus felt surprised with the openness that Irys was communicating with him. He couldn't help but find himself comparing his conversation with her versus his conversations with North. Not that she had spoken to him much after their small blow-up following the mission to the warehouse. When he spoke with her though, it felt extremely guarded with her. Asking her anything about herself was treading dangerous territory and she appeared to thrive off of people thinking of talking to her that way. However, it seemed with Irys, the only one here who was being guarded was him, and that was simply because he couldn't seem to find a good way to slip into their conversation that he wasn't a human yet. Her honesty was almost refreshing, even if he felt a tad uncomfortable with knowing something so intimate about her so quickly.

Just then a loud buzzing noise came from between them. Irys reached into her coat pocket and pulled out her cell phone. Looking at the screen, her face slightly twisted into an annoyed grimace.

"It's my break alarm." she said to him while shaking her head.

"Break alarm?"

"It's basically letting me know that I got about five minutes to get back to my job. I kind of can't risk another run in or my ass will be on the line. Boss has been riding me a bit lately."

She stood to her feet, simultaneously draping her headphones back around her neck. At the thought of her leaving, Markus suddenly felt a small sense of panic rise in him. He didn't want their moment to end so soon. There was no telling when he would be able to talk with someone the way that he was speaking with her, or feel the way that he does when he's around her. He only gotten a taste and he was dying to get more of it, like he was some small child who had gotten their first taste of sweets.

"Wait…" he stood to his feet as well, noticing that he all but towered over her, but she didn't shrink away from him. "Where do you work?"

"A small diner, not too far from here." she pointed into a vague direction with her hand.

"When do you get off?" he asked eagerly.

"Uh, I think I have another hour and fifteen left in my shift. That's if the next cook after me actually gets his ass in on time."

"Maybe, I can wait for you to get off? So we can talk some more?" his voice faded off towards the end, not knowing how she was going to take him asking that of her.

Her expression was blank at first with just a small furrowing of her eyebrows, but finally it relaxed into an easy smile, "Yeah, that would be okay. If anything, are you hungry? You can come in and eat, kill some time while you wait for me. Otto isn't too fond of loitering but if you look the part he won't have a reason to bother you."

"Oh, I'm not…I don't..." although he started the sentence, he caught himself before he finished.

He wanted to say that he wasn't hungry because he didn't have to eat. It may not have been the perfect moment to tell her he was an android but it would've made sense to say something about it finally, but he didn't and he couldn't place why.

"What?" she asked furrowing her brow again.

"I don't um…I don't really know how to say this but I…"

"You don't have money?" she asked, clearly trying to finish his statement for him.

Without another thought to it, Markus just grabbed on to the life line she had unknowingly thrown him, "Yes," he let out a deep sigh, "I don't have any money."

"Oh…" Irys replied, her eyes becoming wide and mortified again in almost the exact same way they did when she felt she had brought up a touchy subject regarding his father earlier in their conversation.

Markus instantly felt like shit. Not only was he continuing to lie to her, but he managed to make her feel foolish with his lies twice now.

"That's fine. It'll be on me." she assured, motioning him to follow her as she began walking without him.

He hesitated for a second before quickly falling in step beside her.


	4. Four

The walk to the diner with Irys was a short and relatively one sided. Irys was instructing him to just go into the diner, take a seat at an empty table, and she would send the waitress over with a cup of coffee and she would take his order for him. She would tell the waitress that he's her guest and that she'll pay for whatever he wants. The whole time that she was telling him this, he couldn't ignore the question in the back of his mind where even though he was deeply appreciative of her willingness do to do this for him, someone she hardly knew, would she have extended this fountain of kindness to him if she knew who he really was. He figured he would push those thoughts deep into the back of his mind as they entered.

Irys made her way to the back of the diner, stripping off her coat as she went and he quickly found an empty table situated in the back near the window. Shortly after he sat down, just as Irys had told him a waitress came over to him with a mug, napkins, and a pot of coffee. She was young, possibly in her late teens, blonde and pretty. She carried a nervous air about her when she approached. Her name tag read 'Tess'.

"Here you go. Freshly brewed so it's still hot." she said, carefully pouring a cup until it reached the very top, thick billows of steam wafting upwards, "Irys said that she'll be footing your bill and told me to encourage you to choose whatever you want."

Markus felt his gaze go towards the back of the diner, behind the counter where he thought he might catch a glimpse of her through the small window into the kitchen but he didn't see anything. This was awkward for him to say the least. He didn't eat and the last thing he wanted to do was order food that was more than likely going to go to waste. He never knew exactly how his body would react if he tried to feign eating and he didn't know if it was something he could risk to keep up appearances.

"I think I'll be good on the coffee for right now." he said slowly, but not enough that it would have came off unnatural.

The waitress, Tess, smiled and walked away with her coffee pot. Markus let out a relieved breath. Hopefully Irys wouldn't insist and send the waitress back over or anything like that. He just sat there, staring at his piping hot coffee mug and wondered if he should chance taking a sip, just to sate his own sense of curiosity. In an attempt to make it so that androids could blend in more with humans, highly advanced models like himself were designed to mimic human functions such as sleeping, which is something that he could do but eating never crossed his mind to check if he could mimic that as well. He lifted the mug to his lips, taking a moderate sip. He was water resistant but extreme temperatures could impact his body negatively such as freezing or scalding water. While it was hot like Tess has warned him, it didn't seem to harm any of his functions after his sip. So he chanced another, longer sip. He didn't have tastebuds, so he couldn't tell if the coffee was good or not, but he felt the heat of it as he drank it and enjoyed the warmth he felt inwardly as he did so. The feeling being similar to how one of Irys's smiles made him feel. So he took another quick sip and set the mug back on the table.

After his experiment with the coffee was done, Markus took some time to look around the diner. It was very standard, if not a bit outdated perhaps. There were other patrons here and there, so it was safe for him to assume that business wasn't particularly booming but it didn't appear as though they were hurting for customers either as it seemed that for every customer that left, another shortly filled their spot. He didn't know how much time had passed without incident. However, he felt snatched away from the bubble of his existence that he comfortably fell into when he heard the angered shouting of a man. His eyes fell to behind the counter where a beefy bodied, middle aged man with dark, swarthy looks was staring daggers into a patron that stood silently on the other side of it. The man was human, but the patron was an android as Markus's gaze instantly fell to it's uniform but he couldn't see the LED on the temple as he was sitting on the side it was facing away from.

"Didn't you hear me you stupid machine?!" the man growled at the android, "I said get the HELL out of HERE!"

In spite of the man's clear rage, the android stood still and blank faced, staring back at him. Everyone in the diner was silent during the exchange. They all stared but nobody made a move to interject anything into the situation unfolding. That was until Markus saw Irys finally emerge from the back of the diner where the kitchen was located beyond a pair of swinging doors. She looked between the two men nervously before approaching the man behind the counter with caution.

"Hey Otto, what's wrong? What's going on here, huh?" she said in a low and shaky but soothing tone.

"Don't you see that contraption on the other side of the counter there? Having the nerve to come in here and asking for an order." the man, Otto, replied heatedly, his tone seething.

"Like, um, like he came in and ordered or…?" Irys stuttered.

"No, something about picking up an order," Otto sneered at her.

"Well Otto, if he's here to pick up an order, what's the problem? We have pick up service, right?" she nervously rubbed her hands in the apron that she was wearing.

Otto whipped his large frame around to face her, eyes almost bulging out of his skull, "That isn't the point. The point is, you know my policy and stance on these damned things coming in here." he said through gritted teeth. "This is my establishment and I can do with it what I damn well please and you know that I have a strict policy of not serving these damn machines, walking around pretending that they are humans, trying to replace us."

Irys breathed in deeply to the point you could visibly see her shoulders rise and fall with it, "And that is correct sir, and you are well within your rights as the owner of this business to run it how you see fit, but if I could just say something here?"

Otto only grunted as his response.

"Isn't it safe to say that he's obviously here to pickup an order for someone else? I mean, you know they don't eat, right? I know you don't hire them and I know policy clearly says we don't serve them, but we're not really serving them. We're serving their owners, who are people like you and me."

As Irys went on with her explanation, Markus could see Otto's face, so twisted with outrage, begin to slightly soften.

"Between you and me," she continued but trying to make her voice even more muted that it already was, "We can't really afford to lose any paying, human customers. Whatever we won't do, somebody else is going to and we can't risk have our customers running into the arms of our competition can we?"she adjusted the hair net that now adorned her head as she spoke but Markus figured it was just something to do with her hands because it never seemed to be in need of readjusting anyway.

Otto looked from Irys to the android, making an audible noise of disgust as he turned back to face Irys, "Fine, but you serve that thing. I'll just pretend that damn thing never walked through my doors."

He stormed off into the kitchen, pushing the doors open furiously. Irys quickly walked over to the small window that was placed between the kitchen and front of the diner and grabbed the bag of food that had been placed on the small ledge. She placed it in front of the android, pushing it towards him as she has asked him with a small and nervous smile if it was the correct order. The android opened the bag and inspected the contents inside before he assured her that the order was correct, returning her smile. Markus saw though, that his smile was different. It wasn't the same generic, polite smile that androids are specifically designed to give when speaking with humans. The smile was genuine, it was a mixture of relief and gratitude. A part of him wondered if the LED on his temple was changing colors. Once the android collected the order and walked out of the diner, the tension eased quickly. Irys turned to him and feigned wiping sweat off of her brow before she disappeared back into the kitchen.

As he waited for Irys to re-emerge Markus thought about the incident that just happened. Irys had stood up for the android and it was more than worth noting that she had referred to the android as "he" and when speaking about androids as a whole, she said "they". Maybe he was reaching, but he took this as a sign that perhaps Irys wasn't one of those android hating humans that North seemed to believe were the only kind of human that existed. Possibly he could tell her that he was one himself and he wouldn't have to keep up this charade any longer. Which would be a great relief as he was starting to wonder how long he would be able to keep this up. It never occurred to him until now that if he was going to continue whatever it was that he was developing with Irys, that keeping up his ruse of being human was going to be a hard one in deed.

Finally after some more time has passed, Irys emerged from the kitchen with her coat and slid into the seat across from him in the booth.

"Tess told me that you only seemed to want the coffee and nothing else?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I wasn't very hungry. But the coffee was nice and hot." he smiled back at her.

"Did you want some more? I was gonna grab a cup myself for the road." she offered.

"No, I'm fine."

She had made a motion to Tess who brought over another mug of coffee and setting it down in front of her.

Markus took that moment to study Irys's face more closely. The sunlight faded quickly into night outside causing the lighting of the diner to brighten up gradually along with it, casting everything in it a warm yet yellowing hue. He noticed that her face was fuller than he remembered it and almost perfectly round. Her features were wide set and he noticed that her eyes turned up slightly at the corners. Her mouth was wide with her lips being just as perfect and beautiful as he recalled. Her nose was broad, coupled with her mane of tangly, curly hair, he would describe her features as being almost leonine.

"You said you wanted to talk some more." she had said after emptying a few sugar packs into her cup and taking a long sip, "Did you want to talk here or would you be comfortable if I invited you over to my home?"

It was only then that Markus started to care about the time. He had been gone for a few hours and wondered if the others would notice his presence or even care that he had been gone this long. If he went back to her place, there wasn't really any way to know how long he would be there, if he was willing to go. Yet if he was being completely honest with himself, he knew that he wasn't going to turn down Irys's invite. He wanted their encounter to carry on for as long as he was allowed. He was thoroughly intrigued by her and he felt as if he wanted to get his fill of her and her presence before they part ways.

"Well, we can talk here some until you finished your coffee."

Irys nodded and took another sip, "Can I be honest about something?"

"Sure."

"I don't think that you weren't hungry and that's why you didn't get anything to eat. I think that you just didn't want to feel like you were taking advantage of my kindness."

"Oh…" Markus drawled out.

Yes, a part of him did feel guilty that she was more than willing to pay to feed him, but it was only because he felt that kind act was going to a waste on him. He didn't stop to think if he was coming across as being opportunistic or not.

"You said that you used to be a caregiver for your father to the point you didn't really do anything else. I've noticed that people who spend so much time taking care of others, they find it hard to accept someone trying to, in a way, take care of them. So I just want you to know that I'm not offended you didn't take my offer."

Markus was taken aback. He secretly admired the way that Irys could form her own narrative from his actions, seeming to always paint him as some nice guy who was trying to keep his noble intentions secret from her. Unknowing to her, it actually helped him keep up his act of passing as human but he was growing to hate himself for not letting her know that she was just making it easier to lie to her. That's when he realized that maybe now was the best time to try to steer the conversation towards him telling her the truth. Yet before he could get his thoughts together on how to approach it, Irys had finished her coffee and motioning for him to follow her out of the diner.


	5. Five

Irys let out a shiver as they stepped out into the cool, crisp night air. "Whoa, got a bit more brisky, didn't it?" she rubbed her hands together before pushing them into her coat pockets.

"Yeah, it did." Markus said with a small smile but it was half-hearted as being an android, the elements didn't affect him to the extent that it would humans.

When they began to walk, Markus had made his mind up that sometime during their conversation he was going to bring up what Irys did for the android back in the diner, hoping to ease into telling her that he is one himself. While walking, Markus again noticed that Irys tried to keep their space with each other close. As they walked, he felt their arms brush against each other in an almost rhythmic way, not unpleasantly. Quite the opposite actually. Trying to take his mind of the weird anxious and light feeling he felt any time she kept their quarters close, he finally found the right way to ask the question that was plaguing him.

"Why did you help that android back in the diner?" her asked, trying to find the right tone and phrasing for the question.

Irys looked a bit surprised by his question before answering, "I never liked seeing mistreatment. No matter who or what it is. I mean don't get me wrong, I know the androids aren't really people. They just look like us but they're not...alive, I guess."

This was the first time since he had been around Irys that he felt disappointment at something she said. He let her continue though as he really was curious as to the full extent of her feelings towards androids.

"I mean, I personally find them kind of creepy, for lack of a better word. It's just they are specifically designed to be humans without actually being a human. It's weird. And then all these places would rather hire them to work then actual people because it seems more convenient to have the labor without having to worry about taking care of the laborer. So I get where the resentment comes from. I mean I'm one of the lucky ones these days. It's hard to find a job that hasn't totally phased out human employment. But still, even if they aren't actually alive, I don't think it's right that people use that as an excuse to treat them poorly."

"So you don't like seeing them being abused, but you don't think they're alive?" he asked.

"I know it sounds a bit contradictory. How can I care about the treatment of something if I don't think it's a living thing? Maybe it's just that they're still so humanlike. Even if they're not, it's hard to think of them as something else when they can almost copy everything about the human likeness."

"What if they don't just copy it? What if they could actually feel? Like have emotions and exhibit awareness, like sentience? Could you think they're not alive then?"

"My answer to that would be how can you tell the difference between true sentience and just a very advanced computer that can mimic it absolutely perfectly? An imitation of humanity isn't real humanity."

Markus then found himself stuck. He believed wholeheartedly that he and the other deviants were alive, they were sentient, they were living, feeling beings. He was certain that if any of the others had heard what Irys said, they would adamantly say that nothing about their deviancy felt as though it was merely just an advancement of their AI. It was deeper than codes and algorithms. They were real.

"What if you met an android that believed that it was alive?" he asked her, finding himself coming to a halt.

Irys stopped as well, "Huh?"

"What if you met an android and they told you that they were alive? Would you tell them that what they were feeling wasn't real?"

Irys mouth open and shut a few times, while her face twisted up in confusion, "I don't know. I don't really talk to them. I mean if one just told me I don't think I would believe it just because they told me."

"So how would you be convinced?" Markus tried to keep the eagerness of out his voice, but he really wanted to be right about Irys.

He went into this wanting her to be different from the other humans. He was right to an extent. She wasn't hateful towards them and she stood up for them when they are mistreated, but she didn't think they were like her and other humans. She just thought of them as really good imitations, and that was only enough to get sympathy from her. Not enough for her to see them as equals.

"I guess...I mean it's one thing if one just told me like, 'Hey, I'm alive.' But I guess for me, it would have to be a bit more than that. I guess I would have to see them act in a way that I know a computer can't fake it. AI's are pretty advanced but I know they can't fake love, they can't fake true happiness, they can't fake true heartache. Yeah, they can smile, they can laugh, maybe they can even cry, but...it's take more then mimicking a facial movement or repeating a phrase. It's just something you can recognize when it's genuine. It's hard to describe."

Markus then mulled over everything that she had said. He had to admit that it was an interesting approach that he had never really considered when it came to what it would take for him and the other deviants to convince humans to view them as something more than imitating machines. It would take more than just saying it. He knew of the civil rights movements way before theirs and this was other humans trying to convince those in power and privilege to view other humans as equals. He suddenly started to think that perhaps he and the other deviants shouldn't have expected humans to come around so easily to their sudden sentience. As he just heard from Irys's perspective, there was an element here that he admittedly didn't really consider when it came to how he thought about delivering freedom to the deviant androids and that was having an honest human point of view to refer to. He had been disappointed that Irys didn't view androids as living beings or equals, but then again, he did understand her stance, and there was one thing out of all the things that she said that gave him hope. She was willing to view them as something more if she was convinced of there being something more to them. Maybe the other humans just saw what was happening with the androids as just a computer malfunction, not real sentience.

"Why do you ask anyway?" Irys asked, knocking him out of his musings.

"I'm sorry?" Markus quickly replied, although he heard her question clearly. He was just at a loss on how he was going to answer it. He had brought up the topic so he could try to tell Irys who he really was, but after hearing her stance and thinking it over, he started to wonder if maybe a different approach to things with Irys may work a better. What if revealing that he wasn't human later than now gave her the convincing that she needed to see androids as having developed real humanity?

"I said why did you ask about what I did for the android anyway? Are you one those anti-android people? Because if so, I'm not gonna apologize for helping him if what I did offended you or something." she said defensively.

Markus couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter at her accusation. If only she could understand the irony of the moment then, "Oh no, nothing like that. Let's just say I'm just not used to seeing a person that actually tried to be nice to androids that's all. I was just wondering what made you want to help is all."

"Well what about you? How do you feel about them?" she asked, staring into his eyes hard.

'This is it.' Markus thought to himself, 'You can tell her now. Just tell her.'

However, Markus had already began calculating another plan in his mind after Irys expressed her thoughts on androids. Unknowing to her, she had given him very good insight on how he was going to tackle the fight for freedom for his people, something that he felt he would never have gotten had Irys known he wasn't a human. What if this friendship he was developing with her could be used for the betterment of his people as he would be getting an idea of how humans really felt about them and this would allow him to know how to approach everything they did with both a human and a deviant perspective.

"I honestly think that there is something more to them and they're trying to show us that." he swallowed as he spoke, finding it hard to refer to himself as if he didn't already know, "Maybe people just don't understand it yet. One day, perhaps an understanding can be reached and things can grow from there."

Irys narrowed her eyes at him, but then nodded her head in agreement, "That's a very hopeful way to look at it. Between you and me though, I can't ever remember a time in history where something such as understanding between two completely different groups came so easily."

Markus had to nod his head in agreement at that. The two of them began walking again with Irys keeping her close space as before, their arms brushing every other step between them.

"How far to your place?" Markus asked after a few moments of silence, trying to find a way to make small talk.

"It's only a few blocks, don't worry." Irys said in a sing-song tone. "Where do you stay, if you don't mind my asking?"

"I...stay with friends. Not too far from around here. I used to live with my father before that."

"You must have taken great care of him. What's he like?"

It was then that Markus felt himself starting to feel overwhelmed. He hadn't taken the time recall his life with Carl or even revisit any memories from before everything happened to him, before he became deviant. Everything just jumped at him in flashes of reveries and emotions. His paced slowed until he came to another halt, closing his eyes for moment to collect himself. Quickly everything subsided, and when he opened them, he was looking into the worried face of Irys. Her hand was stretched out to him, seeming as though she was going to go for his hand but stopped just short, her fingers were only lightly grazing his.

"I'm sorry if…" she started but he swiftly held up his hand to stop her apology.

"You didn't do anything wrong." he assured, "It's just...I never really took the time to really think back on my father and everything that happened between us. I guess, I got a bit overwhelmed. It all kind of hit me at once."

He felt Irys start to move her fingers against his slowly and softly, "If you don't want to talk about it…"

"No, Irys, no." he slightly groaned, "I think talking about it may help me really."

"You sure?" her eyes searched his face.

They came to stop within the beaming of a streetlight. Everything outside of the light's ray was dull and dark, seeming to only magnify Irys. Markus felt his gaze shift from her big, dark eyes to her full, pouty, beautiful lips. Though the timing seemed a bit random and non-ideal, the fleeting impulse of wanting to kiss her was just as strong of a feeling as what he just became overwhelmed with beforehand from her asking about Carl. However, strong that feeling was, he was able to shake it off fast.

"Yes, I'm sure." he nodded.

"Okay." Irys returned his nod.

Markus was the one to start walking again this time with Irys following, only this time she kept her hand out of her pocket, continuing to lightly graze her fingers against his as they walked and he found the gesture unbelievably comforting.

"My father is an artist. He's also paraplegic." he started, pacing himself as he went, "He lost the use of his legs in an accident and as a result he became a shut in. Refused to go out or do anything social. He rather stay in and paint but he was even starting to lose his enthusiasm for that. He didn't like having me around at first but eventually he warmed up to me and we mostly became each other's only real companions for a time. Soon, our home felt more like a haven from the world outside. Our arrangement you could say was almost perfect."

"Almost?"

"My father has another son. I guess that would make him my half-brother in a way. He's a heavy user and he had a habit of guilt tripping our father into giving him money, often bringing up the fact that he wasn't around for him much growing up. He seemed to really hate me, accused me of being the favorite. Every time he came around, he would always berate me, abuse me but I never fought back at the urging of our dad."

"That hardly seems fair." Irys scoffed.

"Believe me it wasn't." he agreed, "One night, my brother broke in and was stealing stuff that he was going to try to sell for drug money, I tried to make him leave and the cycle started over again. Him yelling at dad, him pushing me, begging me to fight him, and dad screaming at both him and me. I just had enough and I…"

"Snapped?" Irys finished for him.

"Yeah," he sighed deeply, "I snapped. I fought back and I hurt him really, really bad."

"What happened then?"

"My father told me to leave. He told me to run away, get out." his voice betrayed him at that moment, cracking ever so slightly, "I'm sorry, but I'm not up for elaborating on what happened next. Just know that, I haven't spoken to them or been back since that night."

Irys nodded slowly as he finished. He then felt fingers lace themselves through his. "That's okay, I understand." she told him softly. "Thanks for sharing that with me. I hoped it helped."

"It actually did." he admitted. Due the fact that all he had been doing is lying to her since they first met, and him choosing to continue the lie for now, it felt good to tell her something that was damn near the truth, even if it wasn't the absolute entirety of it.

"We're here." Irys said stopping in front of an apartment complex.

Markus looked around, studying the neighborhood. It wasn't one of the more posh, well off parts of Detroit, but it was definitely nicer than the other places he'd seen.

"So, you still want to take me up on my invite inside my humble abode?" Irys asked, quirking up an eyebrow, her mischievous smile and tone were not lost on him.

Markus felt warmth again at this, but this was a different kind of warmth. The other times the warmth was muted, soft, glowing feeling. This time it was more profound, a heavy and intoxicating heat.

"Well, Mr. Markus?"


	6. Six

The air between them was thick with a tension that Markus never felt before as they quietly walked up the staircase to Irys's apartment. It was thick to the point it made Markus's physical being start to feel the closest thing that it could to aching.

'So this is sexual tension, huh?' he thought to himself.

After five flights, Irys led him down a hall towards one of the doors marked with the number 505. Opening the door, he followed her inside to a narrow, short, and dimly lit entryway. There was a coat rack already holding a few coats and small bench with a row of shoes placed on top. Irys removed her coat to place it on an empty hook before bending down to untie her sneakers. When she stood to her feet, she turned to face him.

"Here, let me help you with your coat." she offered, grabbing him before he could protest.

She grabbed around his collar, sliding the coat from his shoulders and down the length of his arms, her fingers purposely grazing him as they went. Markus felt a tingling rush sweep throughout his body at her touch. Damn, did it feel good. Their eyes met, a smoldering intensity heavy in both of their stares. Irys broke their stare with her gaze falling to his clothing.

"My word, do you not have better clothes?" she asked, fingering one of the tears in his shirt, her face crinkling in distaste and concern.

She placed his coat on a hook and then grabbed his hand in hers as they walked further into the apartment. Markus found himself fixating on the warmth and softness of her hand in his. She led him into a living room area that had a dining area off to the left as you entered and to the right there was a kitchen with it's island acting as a divider between it and the living area space. It was a very nice place, everything up to date and modern but nothing too fancy or over the top. It was organized and tidied up but still looked very much lived in. What he found himself drawn to the most was the dark colored wall piano that sat to the far wall in the dining room, far enough away from the dining room table set with a guitar set on a stand beside it.

When they had walked in, Markus saw two little brown faces under piles of dark hair pop up to peer over the back of the couch at them after tearing their gazes away from the tv set in front of them.

"Mommy?" one called questioningly.

"Yes, honey. It's me." Irys's face lit up.

"Mommy!" she said excitedly, bouncing off the couch and running over to wrap her arms around Irys's leg. Markus assumed this twin was Hazel.

Halle followed suit, but at a slower, more cautious pace, eyeing Markus every step of the way as she approached, latching onto Iry's other leg, eyes still fixed on him. Irys let go of his hand so she could rub them in the hair of her daughters affectionately.

"I didn't hear you come in." called a voice from the kitchen.

He turned around to see woman emerge from the kitchen, smiling. The resemblance was strong enough for Markus to deduce that the woman was Irys's mother. She had the same thick mane of big, dark hair, yet unlike Irys's it seems that she has managed to tame and shape her hair into an almost perfectly circular shape. Her skin was more of a golden hue of brown and her face more heart shaped than round like Irys's, her dark eyes were much more narrow shaped as well.

"Didn't know you would be bringing company either." she eyed Markus with a look of polite curiosity.

"It's you again?" Hazel said, sounding surprised from Irys's side, looking at Markus.

"Hazel, stop being rude, please. Thank you." Irys replied, guiding her and Halle back to the couch.

"Mom, this is Markus. The girls and I met him on the way back from your house one day. And Markus, this is my mother." she introduced.

"Hello," Markus greeted, nodding his head towards her.

"Hi, call me Miss Issa." she replied warmly, holding out her hand to him.

"Ok." he smiled, taking her hand and giving it a firm shake.

"Will you be joining us for dinner?" she asked.

Finding himself stuck again, Markus looked to Irys, who gave him an encouraging look.

"Um, yes. I will be staying."

"Good, I made plenty anyway. You're not vegan or anything are you?" Issa asked, raising an eyebrow in a move that reminded Markus instantly of when Irys does it.

"Uh, no. I eat everything." he said, trying his hardest not to sound awkward as he did.

"That's even better." she grinned, giving him a playful pat on the arm before making her way back into the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Hazel asked as Irys made her way back towards the hallway.

"Well, if it's alright with you, I'm gonna take a shower." Irys feigned incredulous at her daughter's question.

"Take a shower?" Hazel repeated, inquiringly.

"Yeah, mommy smells like nothing but hot cooking oil." she laughed, then she turned to face him,

"Markus, follow me." she instructed him, ducking her way out of the living area and back into the hallway.

He followed her until they came to a stop in front of one of the closed doors at the end of it. She opened it, revealing a closet that held a bit of everything in it. It seemed to be mostly blankets. Squatting down, she opened a big, clear plastic tote. Inside of it were neatly stacked piles of clothes and shoes. After grabbing some items, she stood up and handed him the clothing.

"What's this for?" he asked softly, taking them from her slowly.

"You clothes are ripped and ruined. I guess I didn't take notice before because of your coat. Figured you could use them." she shrugged, trying to appear indifferent.

"Are they...his?" he asked cautiously, hoping that it wouldn't upset her.

She cleared her throat softly before answering, "Yes, what I didn't donate or put in storage. He was a skinny guy, not as um...broad shouldered or...muscular like you…"she trailed off, looking away from him as she said this, her cheeks reddening the way they done with him earlier, "But he bought his clothes pretty big. Hopefully, they fit pretty close."

"Irys, you didn't…" he started but she held up her hand to him.

"No, no, no. I wanted to." she said seriously, staring at him, "Now the door just before this one is the guest bathroom. Go on and get changed. I'll be out after my shower, ok?"

"Thank you, Irys." Markus said before turning to go into the bathroom.

Markus studied his new clothing after he put them on. Irys's worries were unwarranted as the clothes fit nicely enough, making him wonder exactly how big the disparity between Laz's size and clothing was. He did feel uncomfortable wearing the clothes of the woman that he was extremely attracted to deceased husband, but he had to admit that the new clothing felt a lot better on him. Exiting the bathroom, he carried his shoes and placed them on the bench in the entryway before slowly making his way back into the living area. It appeared Irys had not emerged yet, Issa was still on the kitchen and the twins were still on the couch. Hazel was bouncing up and down on the couch, singing along to the programming on the tv while Halle giggled at her, even joining in on some of the verses.

Issa noticed his presence as he stood quietly in the doorway.

"It's ok, go on and sit down." she encouraged with a smile and a wave of her hands.

Markus took a seat on the loveseat. As he sat down, the twins both stopped their playing and stared at him blankly. He had to admit that if he had sweat glands, a nervous sheen may have coated his forehead.

"You change your clothes?" Hazel asked, her little hand quirked in a questioning gesture.

"Oh, uh, yes. Your mother gave them to me." he replied, rubbing his hands nervously on his newly acquired jeans.

"What?" Hazel gasped in surprise, "But why?"

"Hazel, enough bothering Mr. Markus." Issa called from the island towards them. "As a matter of fact, being that Mr. Markus is no longer using the bathroom, you two go on in there and clean up for dinner."

"Ok." they both chorused as they scurried out of the living room.

Issa watched them leave the room before turning to Markus, "You can turn the channel if you want. The remote is on the table."

"Oh no, I'm fine." Markus declined.

"Alright, that just means I can change it then. I think I've had about my fill of kid tv today." she walked into the living, picked up the remote, and changed it to a news broadcast.

As she began walking back into the kitchen, Markus heard Irys telling the girls not to play around in the bathroom and wash their hands. The girls returned to their perches on the couch, while Irys went into the kitchen with Issa. Markus felt his eyes instantly become stuck on her once he caught sight of her. She came out dressed in a pair of high waisted leggings, a cropped hoodie, and a pair of slippers that were crocheted to resemble high tops sneakers. Her hair was loose and wild again and her simple ensemble accentuated her figure pleasurably. As she stood next to her mother, talking and helping her with something, Markus noticed where their real resemblance to each other lay. Both Issa and Irys had compact, thickly built, and curvy figures. Their arms were thick, their busts and butts ample with big, shapely legs and wide, rounded hips that flared out from under significantly smaller waists. In spite of the waistline, neither had flat or toned stomachs, but they didn't protrude nor lap over. Issa's portions were much larger than her daughter's and whereas her shape could be described as an exact hourglass, Irys was more pear-shaped with her bottom half being a bit larger than her top. After raking over her body with his eyes more than a few times, he decided it would be best to turn his attention to something else. Before he could turn away, Irys caught him, and gave him small shy but knowing smile. He had thought to himself that if it was possible for him to blush, he would have in that moment. He did feel a rush of heat go towards his face. Her smile disappeared as her stare turned towards the tv and her face seemed to fall.

"Oh no, oh no." she called out, shaking her head slightly.

She ran over to the table, grabbed the remote, and changed it quickly.

"We won't be having none of that." he heard her say under her breath.

"Girl, how do you expect to go through life having no idea of what's going on in the world?" Issa asked her shaking her head, giving Irys a questioning and annoyed look.

"Mom, ain't nothing going on the news now that's any different than what's been going on in the news for decades now. It's depressing bull crap, depressing bull crap, nice fluff piece inserted here to hold you over until they add more depressing bull crap. Maybe something about sports."

"Bull crap?" Hazel repeated, eliciting a small chuckle from Halle.

"Don't repeat what mommy says." Irys pointed her finger at Hazel warningly, although it seemed halfhearted.

"What about the girls? As they grow up, they need to know these things." Issa countered.

"Know what, mom? They can learn plenty in school, if they've decided to update their history and curriculum yet that is. And if you want the girls to know that the world is dying a slow, suffering death and going to hell in a handbasket, they can learn it on somebody else's watch, not mines."

Issa simply responded with a noise of disapproval, returning to her task in the kitchen, "Anyway, dinner's ready."

"Girls, go sit down at the table." Irys instructed, then turned to Markus, "Would you like to help me set the table?"

"Yes, sure." he rose to his feet and followed her into the kitchen.

"Here you go, Mr. Markus. You can set the plates." Issa smiled, handing him a small pile of plates and utensils.

Markus took the dishes over to the table where Hazel and Halle sat on one side, again both of them watched him unflinchingly as he set the places. He approached them nervously as he set their plates in front of them.

"Thanks." Hazel grinned up at him.

"You're welcome." he replied simply.

He set Halle's plate in front of her to which he was surprised when she quietly responded, "Thank you, Mr. Markus."

"You're welcome too." he chuckled softly to cover his surprise.

While he finished setting the table, he had a quick flashback to setting the table for Carl. It felt different setting the table for a family, instead of one man. Suddenly Markus had to fight back a feeling of sadness at how lonely Carl had been and must be without him around now. When he was finished, he took a seat on the opposite side of the table. Irys and Issa came over with the food. Issa had a large pan of lasagna that she set down in the center of the table, while Irys had a bowl of salad and a basket of breadsticks. It was Irys that handed out the food as Issa took a seat at the head of the table. Markus inwardly cringed at the large helping that she gave him. He figured in order to save face, he would have to eat something on the plate. The coffee from earlier didn't have any negative effect, so maybe a few bites of lasagna wouldn't do any damage either.

Irys sat down next to him, placing him between her and Issa. She held out her hand to him which he was at first a bit confused by until he felt Issa lightly tap his arm from the other side. Then he saw that they were joining hands with each other with Irys already holding one of the twins's hand from across the table.

"Oh, sorry." he said quickly taking both of theirs hands.

"That's alright." Issa gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, "I take it you don't come from a praying family?"

"No, actually. Not really." he replied, trying to recall if he ever saw Carl pray in any way at all.

"Let us bow our heads."

He did as instructed and listened to Issa say a short prayer over the food, giving thanks for it and also giving thanks that he had joined them tonight for dinner. At that Markus had to bite down the awkwardness that he felt deep down in the pit of his being.

The dinner started of relatively quiet, save for Irys scolding Hazel a few times for ripping up her breadstick, attempting to play with them as if they were dolls. Halle ate in silence but Markus noticed that she wouldn't touch the salad on her plate. It made him remember how Irys had asked the girls about eating their vegetables when they first met, suddenly Halle's silence made more sense as something other than shyness. A few times, Markus felt his eyes glance over towards the piano and guitar. Even before his sentience, he always seemed to have an affinity for the piano more than everything else he had been programmed to be good at.

"Mr. Markus, are you one the folks that have work these days?" Issa asked in between bites.

Irys shot an annoyed look at Issa as she asked this. Markus found himself too preoccupied with trying to look natural while eating the bits of lasagna, at Issa's question he almost choked.

After stammering quietly for a few seconds he answered, "I'm not working at the moment, unfortunately."

"That's fine if you don't. It seems like nobody has a job in this country any more. Everybody rather have those android things work instead of actual people." Issa said with a hint of bitterness in her tone, "I mean I guess you can say there are some benefits to having them work in some jobs instead of humans, but it just seems like nobody wants human employees anymore. And there isn't even anything in play to really help all those people that are now unemployed because of it."

Markus tried hard to keep his facial expression neutral during her rant. Again, he didn't like hearing her call him and his people "things", but it still provided insight into the human's frustration and resentment towards them. Whether he liked hearing it was besides the point. He felt he needed to hear so that it can be channeled later.

"Mom, let's not get into politics or whatever right now." Irys said, her tone sounding a bit irritated.

Issa shot her a hard look before saying, "Anyway, Mr. Markus, where do you live?"

There was no way Issa could have know that her attempts at small talk with him felt like an interrogation. It didn't stop him from getting uneasy at her questions.

"I live around here. I'm staying with friends at the moment." he tried to keep his tone evenly enough.

"Oh, like roommates?"

"Um, yes. Quite a few actually." He chuckled humorlessly.

"My mom actually has a room for rent." Irys suggested, "It's my old room but it doesn't look like it anymore, obviously." she snorted.

"That is true, I do. And I feel as though I charge a fair price. I know the whole rooming with a lot of roommates isn't always ideal and I have a feeling you like to be to yourself sometimes. I mean I'll be there but best believe, I'll leave you to your business, you leave me to mine. If you're ever interested, you can take my number." she offered.

"Thank you. I will consider it." he lied, but he liked thinking that if circumstances were different he wouldn't have minded taking Issa and Irys up on the offer.

It honestly would have given him more reason to have Irys in his life besides going out of his way to do so. He was certain that if his lack of presence at Jericho wasn't really felt before, they were more than probably wondering now. A part of him wondered if he snuck away to see Irys in the future, if the others would be a tad too curious.

The rest of the dinner went by without much incident. Markus surprised himself by getting down a decent enough amount of food from his plate. There was still enough left on the plate for Irys to comment, "Either you weren't really hungry today or you eat like a bird."

He just gave her a tight smile in response.

When everyone was finished, Irys took control of the cleanup whereas Issa said that she would help the twins get ready for bed. Markus offered to help Irys in the kitchen. The two of them were at the sink as she was washing the dishes and he dried with a towel and put them away. He felt really strange doing something so mundane after everything else that he had been through in the past few days. It reminded him of the simple existence that he lived with Carl beforehand, but he knew he would never be able to return back to the normalcy of that life. It didn't stop him from enjoying it here with Irys now. It didn't stop him from secretly hoping that in some way, he could actually have it with her one day. A day where she knew who he really was and him not worrying about keeping up a charade.

"Irys?"

"Yeah"

"Can I ask you a question?" he set the plate he was drying into the cabinet overhead.

"Sure, go ahead."

"Why do you not watch the news? To be honest, I've never heard of anyone doing anything like that. In this day and age, it's almost impossible to not see anything news related."

Irys let out a deep sigh, "Don't think I'm weird or being a baby or something but I just don't like all the awfulness I see on there. Too much bullshit going on in the world and...it just depresses the hell out of me. Also, it's been awhile since I've been in a good enough mental space to take on the knowledge of the crap of the world outside. Doing this kind of media blackout kinda makes me feel like I'm keeping my sanity in a way."

Markus was instantly reminded of how Carl complained all the time while watching the news how awful the world had become when he watched it. With political tensions high between Russia and America, most people feel as though a third world war is just on the horizon. The there was the horrible state of the natural environment as global warming has officially has hit the point of no return and many species were extinct. Not to mention countless other things plaguing the world, Markus felt safe to assume that most were probably thinking they are just waiting out the end of the world. He could see why people like Irys may want to completely unplug from it.

"I don't think you're being a baby…I can agree, the news has become really depressing."

"I mean, I kinda hinted to you earlier, if you decide to stick around, you're gonna realize I'm quite a mess. Mentally anyway." she let out a laugh that had no humor behind it as she handed him the last of the dishes.

"Irys, you did suffer a tragedy while still relatively young. I mean, not many women your age can say that they're widowed." he said reassuringly as he dried the dish and put it away. "I wouldn't think any less of you just because you're open and honest about your past and yourself." his tone matter of fact. "If anything, I like how open you are. I find it refreshing."

Irys was quiet for a moment before replying with a simple but shaky "Thanks. I find you refreshing too."

Irys then looked at him, her features soft with vulnerability. Acting completely on impulse, Markus took his hand and placed it on the side of her face, cupping her cheek, and rubbing his thumb across it comfortingly. Once he realized what he had done, he wanted to take his hand away, but at his touch he felt Irys lean into it and he couldn't bring himself to pull away. Not to mention that the feel of her face in his palm felt good. He could never get over how warm and soft she felt. Earlier it was her hand, now her face. He began to wonder if every part of her felt as warm and soft. At that thought, his gaze was pulled to her beautiful lips that appeared more flushed. She noticed his staring at them.

"Do you want to kiss me, Markus?" she asked softly, her voice breathy.

Again, impulsively he answered, "Yes," his voice just as breathless as hers.

"You can." she sighed, her eyes closing to heavy lidded slits.

In spite of her clear verbal consent, Markus didn't immediately dive into kissing her. He closed in but then felt himself pulling back a bit. There were so many thoughts and feelings that ran through his head, trying to sway his next action towards what should have been a more rational path. Yet his physical desires proved much stronger and he pressed a soft, quick kiss on her at first. The feeling was that of incredible, pillowy softness and tantalizing warmth. When he pulled back, he saw Irys's eyes were filled with an eager, ravenous look. He had a feeling that the look was reflected in his eyes too. He never felt hunger before, but this feeling that was running through him, begging him to continue kissing Irys had to have been it. Moving in closer to her so their bodies were held tightly against each other, he kissed her again. This time a longer, deeper kiss as he pressed himself deeper against her, the curves of her body feeling as though they were molding into his. Markus tried to recall the last time he felt this utterly satisfied about anything and found that he absolutely couldn't. The longer the kiss went the more his satisfaction started to fleet, being replaced with a deeper longing to feel more, to feel more of her. The soft sounds of her sighs as she breathed into his mouth as they kissed did nothing but fuel the heat that was rising in him. His hammering heart, pumped his blood faster and there was a moment where he was afraid that too much of this built up heat would damage his inner circuits.

He was amazed that only within a day of being around her, his time and experience with Irys made him feel as though he was cultivating his humanity more. Carl may have helped him bring it out, but his time with Irys was further nurturing it. When he became deviant, when his sentience came forth, he felt in that moment that he was something more than machine, that he was alive, but the feelings that he felt today, felt with her now only cemented it. That night at the mansion Markus first became human, tonight kissing Irys after all the build up from today, made him finally start to really feel human.


	7. Seven

The sound of approaching footsteps made Irys turn her face downwards away from his with Markus pulling his hand away and break the contact between their bodies. Words couldn't describe the amount of disappointment and frustration that he felt at the moment ending like that. He, honestly, would have gave anything to have the moment back and have it continue. Issa made her way into the kitchen, after casting a glance back and forth between the two of them, a knowing smile spread wide on her face. Again Markus felt his face heat up and was sure that if he could blush, his complexion would have been a deep shade of red. Irys's face was visibly blushed, but she returned her mother's smile.

"Yes momma," she asked, her voice tight and cracking as if she were holding in a laugh.

"The girls are in their bed but you know they asking for you. They wanna hear their mommy sing before they go to sleep." Issa replied with a teasing tone.

Irys reared her head back and let out a sound that was a mix between a groan and the laugh that she had been holding in earlier. "You couldn't have read them a story or something, mom?"

Issa's face then scrunched up, her head tilting to the side and her hands going to her hips in an incredulous posture, "You're lucky I even stuck around this long. You know I'm usually out that door after the food is put away."

"Okay, okay." Irys threw her hands up in defeat, she looked at Markus and said, "You wouldn't mind waiting in the living room, would you?"

"No not at all." Markus replied, only just realizing how tight and awkward his voice sounded.

"Come on, mom. I'll walk you out."

With that the two of them walked out of the kitchen and Markus made his way back to the living room. However, instead of sitting down, he stood in the middle of the room, looking around. He wasn't looking for anything in particular but once he saw something that caught his attention he went over to it. Next to the tv mantle, there was a small end table with a cluster of pictures on it. He made his way towards it, studying them closely until he was within reach to pick one up. It was the largest of the pictures and the one that piqued his interest the most. The other pictures were of Irys and the girls throughout varying stages of their infancy into their more recent toddler years, but the one that he had picked up was that of Irys. She wasn't the only one in the photo though. It was one of those portraits done professionally in a studio. In it, Irys seemed to be sitting down, her face turned towards the camera and grinning brightly, yet her eyes were closed. Her hair was shorter, clinging closer to her head and she appeared to be thinner. Standing over her, but bent down enough to plant a kiss on the side of her face was a tall, thin young man with dark brown skin, a thin, closely trimmed beard, a large afro of dark hair that was pulled away from his face with a band and large, round shaped glasses. Markus knew that this had to be Laz.

"Markus," he heard Irys's voice call from the doorway.

He quickly turned around, feeling a bit startled. He had wondered if his snooping may have not been viewed lightly by Irys, but she didn't seem to notice really.

"I'll be right back. You can just sit on the couch." then she was gone out of the room again.

For some reason, Markus didn't go the couch as she had told him. Even after his deviancy, Markus didn't really act on impulse but he found himself walking out of the living room and into the hallway. He saw a light coming from the end of the hall where he figured that the girls room is. Although he heard voices, Irys and the twins were out of view. Slowly and quietly, he made his way towards the room, until he stopped just short of it and out of any possible view that they could have had.

"Alright, you both tucked in good?" he heard Irys ask.

He only heard Hazel's response but he was certain that Halle probably used a non-verbal means to answer her mother.

"What song do you want to hear me sing?"

"The one about the star and the boat." Hazel answered softly.

"Alright, good choice." Irys answered back.

Markus listened intently as Irys began humming a simplistic but beautiful melody before singing the lyrics of the song. Her deep and throaty voice sounded just as mesmerizing as it did before from when he had listened to her sing on Laz's song. If anything, it was much better hearing it live, in real time. Her voice was both soothing and absolutely hypnotizing as she sung about the subject of the song who is first described as a star and she is a black sky that only lives to let the star shine and even if the star were to leave, she would be happy just as long as the star left it's dust to remind her of them. Then the subject turned to a boat and she the sea, pushing the boat to its destination as her goal is to see the boat be free and sail away but she wouldn't mind as long as she will remember the wake that the boat left to remind her of it. As she sung, Markus closed his eyes and actually began visualizing the images that Irys sung about in his mind. As he pictured the pitch black night with the lone bright star shooting across it, and the ebbing, flowing sea with the lone sailing boat, he was struck with the realization that this may have been the closest thing that he may have ever had to a dream. When she finished, he opened his eyes and before he could think to retreat Irys had exited the room and was staring him in the face. Her eyes went wide with surprise as she stopped dead in her tracks.

Markus went into slight panic as he quickly stammered out, "I'm really...I'ma...I apologize. I guess I just...wanted to hear you sing again…" he trailed off.

Irys appeared to still be stuck in her spot by surprise but slowly she seemed to start coming around, "You know you can't just go stalking about in people's homes like that."

"I know, I just wanted to hear you sing again. You have a very beautiful voice, I love hearing it." he said lowly, as he nervously started to shuffle his feet.

Irys cleared her throat and wrung her hands together, her eyes searching his face, "Let's just not do that again." she gave him a small but still uneasy smile, "But thank you. It feels good to hear that someone besides my kids like my singing." her smile then turned into a real one.

Markus instantly felt the tension that had clasped onto his body release itself. Irys motioned for them to go back into the living room and he followed suit. She sat on one end of the couch and he sat at the other. The tv had been cut off before dinner so it was completely quiet in the living room between them. The silence was an uneasy one, it was awkward for Markus because he didn't really know if he should say something or let Irys start the conversation. Admittedly, he wouldn't have minded at all if Irys made a move to continue where they had left off from earlier on the kitchen, but something told him that things may have had to build back up to that again. He still felt a lot of those feelings left over from then, he wanted to explore them some more again. Yet he wasn't comfortable enough to make any moves on his own. He certainly wasn't sure if Irys was open to him making any moves either. So he figured he would just wait it out, to see what would happen. After sitting in silence for a few he caught Irys staring at him out the corner of his eye, he tried to appear preoccupied in his thoughts by staring into his hands in his lap. Turning to meet her gaze he asked if something was wrong.

"No, no." Irys answered a bit shyly, shaking her hair over to one side of her face. "It's just...at the risk of sounding either cheesy or something, you're, like, really good-looking. Like beautiful even. It's kind of weird. You're almost perfect."

Markus was both parts flattered and cautious. There was a point in time where humans were more resistant towards androids simply because the early models' aesthetic were viewed as being too perfect and unrealistic looking. All androids were made to have a more realistic look to them now, coming as far as to even have visible pores and blemishes on their skin, but they were still designed to fit the conventions of what was viewed as society's beauty standards. It didn't stop him from feeling good at Irys's complement but neither did it stop him from being self-conscious that she noticed how perfect he looked.

"I would think you were one of those androids if not for your eyes." she locked her stare with his.

"My eyes?"

"You have heterochromia. You have a blue eye and a green eye. I went to school with a girl like that when I was younger. She had a blue eye and a brown eye. I always thought it was so cool."

"Oh yeah, you're right. I don't think a lot of people notice that."

"I noticed it the first day I saw you. Forgive me for sounding shallow but when I first saw you, I thought, damn he's good-looking." she laughed, one that Markus joined in on, "That and then I was like, but he looks so damn lost too."

"So which one made you stop to talk to me? That I was so damn good-looking or because I looked so damn lost?" he joked, surprised that he actually did such a thing.

"More so the lost part. I mean, yeah you're handsome but there was just something about you that said you needed help. Like, not only did you look lost in the physical sense but, you also looked lost like you lost a lot and you had no idea where to go afterwards. You looked like you were searching for something so eagerly, like clinging to whatever it was because it may have been the only thing you had left."

Markus found himself speechless at what Irys had said. For perhaps the first time since they had met and after all of her other assumptions and musings about him and his life, this was the first time that Irys actually analyzed the entire situation and drew the correct conclusion. It was practically the same thing that Lucy had said to him the first day he came to Jericho. He had it all and lost it all. He was looking for Jericho that day because he literally had nothing else to search for after piecing himself back together in the android dump. He had nothing else to cling to. He was lost that day he met Irys and slowly he felt as though he was finding something again.

Just then he felt Irys's hand intertwine with his. He looked into her eyes and saw something that he never thought he would ever see in a human's eyes towards him. Sympathy, pure sympathy.

"Markus, this may be presumptuous of me and I know we haven't known each other long but...whether you want to tell me the whole story of your circumstances or not, I want you to know that I...want to help you. I know times are tough nowadays and simple kindness seems to be in small supply but I know what it's like to be in a shitty set of circumstances and it helps a lot to know that you have someone to turn to."

Markus was deeply moved and touched by Irys's words. After everything that had happened that fateful night and how the androids of Jericho always spoke of humans with either hatred or fear, the last thing he ever really expected from a human was an offer of kindness and comfort. He recalled North's cold words of how he came to the wrong place searching for comfort, but here right now with Irys, after everything he had experienced with her in such a short time, he felt North was right. Jericho wasn't the place to find comfort. Irys was offering it here with her instead.

He gave Irys's hand a tight squeeze before saying softly, "Thank you. We both know you don't have to, but it means so much that you want to."

The silence fell over them again, only this time it felt more easy on the two of them.

"For what it's worth, I find you to be very beautiful too." he said shyly breaking the silence.

Irys blushed again, pulling her hand away and using it to nervously shake her hair again.

"I remembered how mesmerized by your hair I was." he admitted.

"This mess?" she snorted, pointing to her head, "Yeah, right."

"I'm serious. Your hair, your eyes…your lips…"

Irys's eyebrow quirked up when he mentioned her lips, "My lips, huh?" she replied softly, even going as far to give them a seductive bite.

"You have...very beautiful lips." he sighed, his eyes falling to them.

They looked more flushed and full at that moment. Oddly, Markus felt himself run his tongue over his own lips at the sight of them and his blood started to rush in his veins again.

Suddenly, the thick, tense heated air that had hung over them earlier seemed to swarm back into their space. Finally, Markus remembered the word for what it was that he was feeling towards Irys. It was passion.

Irys's face then became adorned with a small yet seductively mischievous grin, "You wanna make out?"

Without even a second thought Markus breathed out, "Absolutely."

Irys let out a light giggle before she all but threw herself into his lap, straddling him between her legs and pressing herself deep against him. She started kissing him deeply, deeper than the kiss earlier and although he was caught off guard by how forward Irys had jumped into it, Markus soon caught up with her, digging his hands firmly, massaging them into the supple flesh of her hips and returning the passionate enthusiasm of her kissing. Their kissing was feverish, being nothing more than a mashing of their lips and a dancing of their tongues. Something else that caught Markus by surprise but he quickly decided that he liked and eagerly caught on to. Irys ran her hands up and down his chest as his found their way up and down her back, retracing a path from her shoulders down to her ample butt. At his touch, Irys let out a soft, but deep moan into his mouth. One that caused him to notice his already racing blood going towards his member, causing it to quickly become engorged.

Androids were equipped to mimic the human body and form in every way, even down to the genitalia. In spite of human/android relationships not being viewed pleasantly by society, it wasn't all that uncommon for people to enter sexual relationships with them as the creators of androids knew that the curiosity, and the admittedly, silent demand of a lot of humans would get the better of them. Markus never thought that he would ever really use the member he was equipped with as he was a simple caregiver model and he was more than certain Carl wouldn't have been interested in him in that way. Now, he was silently thanking his creators that they had.

Irys broke away from his lips, beginning to leave a trail of tongue kisses down his neck, sending a series of shivers and tingles throughout his body, causing him to knead his fingers deeper into her hip and thigh. As she worked on a particular spot on his collarbone, Markus felt a deep sighing moan escape from his mouth as well. She then stopped kissing him and began twirling circles on his skin with her tongue, moving up from his neck to trail along his jawline before coming full circle to his lips again. Markus decided then that he wanted to take the lead now. While Irys was in control, she had him pressed up against the couch, but now he was leaning forward into her. He broke his lips away from her, going to run his lips and tongue over the contours of her neck and shoulders. As he placed one arm around her waist to steady her, the other drifted to the front of her body, running her hand up her stomach, stopping himself just below her breasts.

"Touch me…" she groaned softly to him.

Markus obliged, moving his hand to cup her breast underneath her bra, but being that it was larger than his hand could hold, it spilled out from where his hand couldn't cover. It felt heavy, but lushly soft. He began massaging it tenderly before moving his hand to repeat the action on the other, eliciting more moans from her that he felt vibrate underneath his lips and tongue as he devoured her neck. The engorging of his member stiffened to point where he almost thought he could feel an aching in it. His heart was hammering, his blood pulsing, his stomach feeling light and heavy at the same time. The whole time, Irys still pressed her lower body into his and the heat from her center became warmer and warmer, seeping into where his body still touched her. Her hands cradled the back of his head as he finally brought his lips back to hers, and he brought his hands to tangle them in her hair.

Just when Markus felt as if he was on the verge of exploding, they finally broke away from each other. Their heads were resting on each other, both of them breathing heavily as if they couldn't get enough air, staring into each other's eyes. Markus was amazed at how at a loss of thought and words that he was in that moment. All that was registering was Irys and him, entwined on the couch, breathing into each other faces.

"It's been awhile for me." Irys spoke first, a breathy smile crossing her lips. "I forgot how good it feels. Almost lost control a bit."

"Yeah," he replied back just as breathless, "That felt damn good."

They both laughed as they pulled their faces away from each other, but still not breaking too much of their physical contact.

Irys reared her head back and let a small hooting noise, pretending to fan herself with her hand, "As really fucking hot as that was, let's leave it to be continued for another time shall we? I mean, I'll admit I've been a bit forward with you today, but gotta bust your balls a bit, otherwise you won't respect me right?" she chuckled.

"No, I wouldn't think that of you." Markus shook his head seriously.

"It's okay Markus," she told him, finally removing herself from his lap, much to his disappointment, "It's getting late anyway."

At that Markus finally realized that she was correct. He had been gone practically the entire day. He was certain that the others surely must have noticed by now. Some may even be worried that something may have happened to him.

"It is getting late, isn't it? I wonder if the others are worried?" he said standing to his feet.

"Wait before you go," Irys said motioning for him to stay where he was she disappeared out of the room.

When she returned, she was holding a duffle bag, "Catch!" she said tossing it at him.

Markus caught it, giving it a questioning look before turning the same look towards her.

"It's a gift. Please, take it." she said walking over towards him.

He unzipped it the bag, reached into it, and pulled out what appeared to be a shirt. Markus already knew that Irys must have packed up what she had left of Laz's clothes and gave them to him. Putting the shirt back into the bag he went to thank Irys, but she placed her fingers to his lips to silence him. "I'll walk you out."

They both made their way towards the door. After placing his shoes back on, Irys helped him into his coat. As he was going to leave out, Markus turned around to face her. She was looking up at him, biting her lips as she fidgeted with her hands.

"I want to see you again. I think you already knew that though." he said to her, meaning every word of it.

Irys let out a nervous bark of a laugh, "You better not have disappeared on me, Markus. I'll find you." she threatened jokingly.

"Can I kiss you goodnight?" he asked, instantly feeling as though he should have just went for it instead of asking.

"We were dry humping on my couch a few minutes ago. Don't worry, you have consent to kiss me without asking after that." she smiled.

Markus smiled too as he leaned down to kiss her. She placed her hands on the sides of his face, holding him in place for a moment. When they pulled apart, Irys's face was lit up like a burning star. The urge inside him was growing steadily strong and if he didn't make his exit soon he didn't know if he was going to be able to continue fighting it.

"Goodnight, Markus." she whispered, letting go of his face.

"Goodnight Irys." he whispered back as he walked out of the door.

Irys closed it slowly behind, peeking out the door, a wide grin plastered until she finally fully closed it. Markus couldn't help but smile himself as he exited the apartment building. Once he was out in the street, he found himself looking back towards the building, in search of a window that may have been Irys's. He couldn't locate it, even with his scanner he couldn't seem to pinpoint it. With one last long look, he walked off into the night.


End file.
